Real Estate Auction Roundup

By William Flood

 Illinois

Decatur - On March 18, Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company offered 115+/- acres in 3 tracts. The tracts contained 105.78 FSA tillable acres with Class A soils, mainly Flanagan silt loam and Drummer silty clay loam, with an average Productivity Index of 141.4. Recent yields showed 237 Bushels/acre for corn in 2025. Tract 1 had 36 +/- acres, predominantly in Flanagan silt loam, Catlin silt loam, and Drummer silty clay loam, with an average Productivity Index of 140.95. Access was at the southeast corner from Mount Auburn Road. Tract 2 was 61 +/- acres mainly in Flanagan silt loam and Drummer silty clay loam. Access was on Crossroads Road and Wesley Drive. Tract 3 held 18 +/- acres (12 +/- tillable) with a potential homesite, with the balance in mixed hardwoods. The tracts sold combined for $1,550,000 ($13,478/acre).

Taylorsville - Cory Craig hosted an online-only auction on March 16 of the locally known Durban Family Farm, near the Rosamond Grain Terminal, consisting of 75.240 acres (69.80 tillable), offered in two tracts. The farmland was mainly in Herrick, Virden, Harrison, Oconee-Darmstadt-Coulterville, Oconee and Douglas soils, with a Productivity Index of 127.7. Recent yields: corn: 34.72, PLC Yield: 160; soybeans: 32.41, PLC Yield: 54. Yield history: corn: 228 bu (2023), 223 bu (2024), and 208 bu (2025); soybeans: 70 bu (2023), 71 bu (2024), and 63 bu (2025). Tract 1 contained 40 +/- acres and Tract 2, 35.240 acres. There was a current tenant for the 2026 season, with the buyer receiving 2026 cash rent of $325 per acre in two payments, one at closing and the other in October 2026. The tenant was interested in staying on. Tract 1 sold for $484,000 ($12,100/acre). Tract 2 brought $20,684 ($9,100/acre).

Indiana

Elwood - Jeff Boone Auction & Realty held the real estate portion of the Ousley Farms retirement auction on March 12, the third in a series completing the sale. Eighty +/- acres were offered in two tracts. Tract 1 contained 10 acres, with a recently upgraded 3-bedroom/2-bath 2,092-square-foot home, with full unfinished basement, and detached 2+ car garage. It also included four Brock grain bins with air tubes, totaling over 80,000 bushels of storage, plus an additional 2,000-bushel holding bin. Improvements included two Morton barns: one with a 36-by-54-foot heated shop and a 54-by-63-foot storage area; the other measured 69 by 71 feet, featured a loading dock and a 17-by-26-foot insulated vegetable cooler. Also on-site was a 29-by-45-foot pole barn and a 24-by-29-foot block building. Tract 2 consisted of 70 +/- acres (62 +/- tillable), with a 2-acre pond and the balance in pasture and sparse woods. The well-drained property had a Chalfant Ditch running through it, with an outlet on the south end. The parcel was currently planted in wheat, with the gross value to be split 50/50 with the seller. The buyer of Tract 2 would also receive $2,000 after straw was baled by the seller. Tract 1 sold for $635,000. Tract 2 sold for $1,105,000 ($15,786/acre).

Ripley County - On March 5, LandProz offered 190.86+/- acres in four tracts, locally known as the Comer Farm. Tract 1 contained 74 +/- acres (72 tillable), with a WAPI of 134.6 and a suitable bin/barn site. Tract 2 had 16 +/- acres (4 +/- tillable and 12 +/- in woods), with a potential building site. Tract 3 was 32 +/- acres (4 +/- tillable and 28 +/- in woods). Tract 4 contained 67 +/- acres (65 tillable and 2 +/- wooded), with a WAPI of 134. The tracts sold combined for $1,425,000 ($7,466/acre).

Kentucky

Centertown - Kurtz Auction & Realty presented 229.311 +/- acres in three tracts, along with associated farm equipment, on March 18. Tract 1 contained 69.961 +/- acres, with a strip pit lake, suitable for hunting/recreation, with approximately 700 feet of frontage along Carter Ferry Road. Tract 2 had 71.185 +/- acres, also with a strip pit lake, with access by easement off Carter Ferry Road. Tract 3 was 88.165 +/- acres (20+/- tillable) with internet available, also accessed by easement off Carter Ferry Road. The real estate sold for $620,715 ($2,707/acre). Farm equipment, including several pieces of International and Deere machinery, sold separately.

Paynesville - On March 2, Butler Auctioneers held an online auction of 176.452 +/- acres of mostly wooded land, offered in two tracts. The recently surveyed property had access from Greer and Morgan roads and offered excellent hunting and recreational opportunities. Tract 1 contained 88.17 +/- acres accessed from Morgan Road. Tract 2 was 88.282 +/- acres accessed from Greer Road. Tract 1 sold for $288,000 ($3,266/acre). Tract 2 sold for $300,500 ($3,404/acre).

Michigan

Birch Run Township - On March 3, Albrecht Auction presented 72.78 surveyed acres as a single tract on their BidNow platform. The parcel had 60 +/- acres of productive farmland, primarily in Kibbie fine sandy loam and Corunna sandy loam, partially re-tiled in 2015. Approximately 10 acres were previously in a CRP program but had been removed and could be converted to tillable with light tree removal and installation of drain tile. Another 2.78 +/- acres were in hardwoods. Frontage was on Block and Willard roads. The property sold for $405,000 ($5,565/acre).

Decatur - Bright Star Real Estate Services conducted a phone-bid and online auction on March 19 of a single tract of 40 +/- acres. With rolling hills and a good blend of timber and tillable acreage, plus established food plots and hunting blinds, it offered good potential for hunting/recreation, or hobby farming. The starting bid was $175,000. It sold for $255,000 ($6,375/acre).

Ohio

Fresno - On March 3, Kaufman Realty & Auctions held a live onsite auction of 160.80 acres with a cabin. The property offered good hunting/recreational opportunities and included a 14-by-16-foot cabin, potential homesite, fenced pasture, well, creek, livestock watering trough, hydrant, and existing bird blind. It sold for $341,880 ($2,126/acre).

Mansfield - RES Auction Services hosted an online-only absolute auction on March 18 of 38.55 acres with commercial and residential development potential. The predominantly wooded parcel was located at U.S. Route 30 and Laver Road in a growing corridor. An existing billboard lease with Lind Media, with a renewable term, conveyed a first right of refusal for the new owner to purchase the lease. The parcel sold for $331,960 ($8,600/acre).